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Armed With Google and YouTube, Analysts Gauge Russia’s Presence in Ukraine

WASHINGTON — An unusual investigation using publicly available videos, smartphone photographs and satellite images shows that Russia is continuing to defy the West by conducting protracted military operations inside Ukraine , according to an independent report. Russia has long dismissed Western allegations that its military has intervened in Ukraine as little more than computer-generated propaganda. In an attempt to puncture the Russian denials, independent experts have operated like digital Sherlock Holmeses, using Google’s Street View, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, satellite photographs and Russia’s version of Facebook, including social media updates by Russian soldiers. That research was then supplemented by more traditional sources like court documents and local media reports. “Independent researchers, using open sources and rigorous methodology, have demonstrated that Russian troops and Russian weapons have been an important part of the fight in Ukraine’s east,” said John E. Herbst, a former American ambassador to Ukraine and one of the […]

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Peak Oil and Technology – The Never Ending Game

Whenever oil prices abnormally elevate due to a variety of reasons, some of which are beyond human control and some the result of human intervention – the world often panics and the press is filled with articles highlighting that the world is running out of oil, ‘peak oil theory’, and oil prices are likely to increase to $250/bbl etc. The term peak oil was originally coined in the 1950s by M. King Hubbert who predicted US oil production would peak in 1970, and decline at the same rate it arose. But in the history of the petroleum era, Matt Simmons will be remembered for calling attention to peak oil. T. Boone Pickens, another peak oil proponent said in a statement, “You had to admire his advocacy and his ability to focus on the need to better prepare for a new energy future.” In reality, like many Malthusian beliefs, the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil rises as dollar dips, eyes on U.S. stocks data

LONDON Oil prices recovered on Thursday after a two-day slide as the dollar weakened, making fuel less expensive for holders of other currencies. The dollar has risen more than 4 percent against a basket of currencies .DXY over the last 10 days, helping accelerate a fall in oil prices from a five-month high early in May. But the surge in the U.S. currency paused on Thursday, encouraging some oil buying, traders and analysts said. "Much depends on the U.S. dollar," said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil and commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "If the dollar resumes its rise, oil will probably test new lows again," Fritsch added. Front-month Brent LCOc1 was up 65 cents at $62.71 a barrel by 0815 GMT. U.S. crude futures CLc1 were up 30 cents from their last settlement at $57.81 per barrel. Investors awaited oil inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil Prices Up as Market Awaits U.S. Oil Supply Data

ENLARGE Shell oil rig Transocean Polar Pioneer arrives in Seattle. The oil drilling rig was moved from Port Angeles to Seattle’s Terminal 5 where it will remain until June as it is prepared for the upcoming drilling season. Photo: Zuma Press LONDON—Oil prices rose in a volatile session Thursday as investors brace themselves for key U.S. oil supply data. Brent crude for July delivery recently rose 0.7% to $62.48 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures for July were trading up 0.3% at $57.67 a barrel. Late Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, reported a surprise 1.3-million-barrel rise in U.S. crude stockpiles for last week. The more closely watched data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later, and markets expect weekly supplies to have decreased by 1.1 million barrels, according to analysts polled by The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Nigerian govt paying $800 million to oil suppliers to end fuel crisis crippling economy

The Associated Press By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s outgoing government has agreed to pay a debt of $800 million to resolve a months-long fuel crisis crippling the economy days before the inauguration of a new president in the country, oil suppliers said Wednesday. Chaos reigned Tuesday at Nigerian airports where most flights were cancelled. Foreign airlines flew to other African countries to refuel. Cars and other vehicles formed queues two and three deep blocking roads for more than 2 kilometers (a mile) outside of gas stations. Attendants turned away people carrying yellow cans to buy kerosene for cooking. There was none. Banks started closing at lunchtime on Monday and cell phone companies warned they would be forced to shut down service countrywide for lack of diesel to fuel generators. Nigeria — Africa’s biggest oil producer— generates more than 2 million barrels of petroleum a […]

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Saudi Arabia’s summer oil demand for power generation to climb

SINGAPORE Saudi Arabia’s demand for oil products could increase by up to 20 percent this summer from last year as soaring temperatures stoke demand for power generation, but new refineries will limit the need for imports, traders and analysts said. Requirements for fuel oil, the cheapest form of oil to burn to generate electricity, could climb by up to 20 percent this year, although demand for pricier gasoil is likely to be unchanged from last year. Imports of the middle distillate into the country are expected to hit a record low this year due to new refineries’ ability to meet demand, potentially curbing Asian gasoil margins as this removes a major outlet for barrels, traders said. Saudi Arabia has added 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) of new capacity in its refineries of Yanbu and Jubail over the past two years, reducing its reliance on imports and stalling term talks […]

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OPEC sees rivals boosting oil output despite weak prices

LONDON The North American oil boom is proving resilient despite low oil prices, producer group OPEC said in its biggest and most detailed report this year, suggesting the global oil glut could persist for another two years. A draft report of OPEC’s long-term strategy, seen by Reuters ahead of the cartel’s policy meeting in Vienna next week, forecast crude supply from rival non-OPEC producers would grow at least until 2017. Sluggish global demand for oil means the call on OPEC’s crude will fall from 30 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2014 to 28.2 million in 2017, effectively leaving the group with two options – cut output from current levels of 31 million bpd or be prepared to tolerate depressed oil prices for much longer. "Since June 2014, oil prices have experienced a significant reduction, reaching levels even lower than the crisis experienced in 2008, yet non-OPEC supply is […]

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June OPEC meeting won’t cut output: Saudi paper quotes source

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia OPEC is not expected to cut oil production at its meeting in June, and the meeting is expected to be a short one, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hayat newspaper quoted an unnamed OPEC source as saying on Thursday. Saudi Arabia will continue producing oil to meet customer demand, and its output is now at about 10.3 million barrels per day in light of growth in demand from China and India, the source added. He said Saudi Arabia would not sacrifice its market share for other people’s interests, especially if there was no cooperation on oil policy from outside OPEC – a line which has been stated repeatedly by Saudi officials in recent months. Al Hayat is a major Saudi newspaper with a strong reputation for covering oil policy. (Reporting by Reem Shamsedine, Writing by Andrew Torchia)

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Obama’s Chief Negotiator in Iran Nuclear Talks Plans to Depart After Deadline for Deal

WASHINGTON — President Obama ’s chief negotiator with Iran , Wendy R. Sherman, said on Wednesday that she planned to leave the administration shortly after the June 30 deadline for a final deal on limiting the country’s nuclear program . “It’s been two long years,” Ms. Sherman, the under secretary of state for policy, said in her office on Wednesday. With her departure, all the top officials who have negotiated with Iran over those two years will have left the administration, leaving questions about who will coordinate the complex process of carrying out a deal if one is struck by the deadline. On Wednesday night, Secretary of State John Kerry, who has relied on Ms. Sherman to conduct the high-stakes negotiations, said that her “mentoring of colleagues, her experience, her passion for diplomacy, her calm in the storm set her apart as a great under secretary of state.” Her […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Sunnis Fleeing ISIS Find Few Doors Open Elsewhere in Iraq

Photo Iraqi civilians fleeing fighting in Ramadi crossed the Bzebiz Bridge, which offers passage into Baghdad from Anbar Province. Credit Karim Kadim/Associated Press AMIRIYAT FALLUJA, Iraq — On one side of a rickety bridge that spans a narrow stretch of the Euphrates River were panicked families on the run from Islamic State forces, hoping to escape Anbar Province and reach safety in Baghdad. On the other side were Iraqi Army officers and Shiite militiamen, under orders to keep the bridge closed because of fears that militants could slip in among the displaced civilians. “It’s like the other side is Europe and this is Asia,” said Ehab Talib, 27, who was waiting to meet relatives fleeing the fighting in Anbar, the Sunni-dominated region whose capital, Ramadi, recently fell to the Islamic State . With new waves of civilians fleeing violence in Anbar there are now more internally displaced Iraqis, nearly […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple